Blood Red
by EmmaLeigh7
Summary: Jane and a hostage situation.


**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the team, though I would like to. The only person I own is Michael Masters.**

**Author's Note: This was for a Fanfic writing challenge on the CBS Mentalist forum started by . The writing prompt was "A member of the team is involved in a Hostage situation". This is my first Fanfic, so please review! I accept constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to tell me if there's something wrong with it!**

**Blood Red**

"Jane? Lower your gun, let's talk about this…" Lisbon said into her cell phone, as calmly as she could.

"There's nothing to talk about, I've told you what I want: Red John, here."

"You know I can't do that, Jane. You can still back out now, I'm sure I can help clear this up, maybe keep you out of jail. Stop this now while you still can."

"If I don't have Red John, I don't want to live. This is my purpose, to make him pay. You have him, and I want him."

"It's against the rules, you know that. I could never hand over a prisoner like that. Besides, we're not even sure it is him."

"You may not be sure, but I am. I'm sorry to hear that you're sticking at rules, Lisbon. You don't think that I would actually do anything, do you? As much as I hate to do this, I'm going to have to prove you wrong." And with that, Lisbon watched the live video feed as Jane turned and shot Cho in the chest.  
_  
__Ten hours earlier… __  
_  
Red John had hit again, this time in a small coastal town. The victim was 29 year old Dominique St. John, single and living alone. When the team arrived, they were greeted by the local Sheriff, Michael Masters.

"I'm no expert, but from what I can tell it looks like a classic Red John. The victim was found in her bedroom, with the face on the wall as usual. When I saw it, I thought I'd better call you guys down ASAP."

"Thanks," replied Lisbon, entering the room where the crime had occurred. She automatically noticed the signature Smiley on the wall, and the brutal mutilations on the victim. "When was she discovered?"

"Last night. Neighbor says she found her at about 9:00. Apparently the lights went out across the neighborhood for a minute, and while they were out she thought she heard something. She became concerned when St. John wouldn't pick up the phone, so she came over to check. Found her like this"

_Present…_

Jane lowered the gun as Cho slumped in the chair he was handcuffed to. Van Pelt yelled Cho's name repeatedly from where she too was being held hostage.

"I hope that convinced you. I am serious about this, and will do anything to accomplish my goals. It makes no difference to me how I end up, he killed my family, and he's going to pay. I would rather not hurt Van Pelt, but I will if I have to. So what will it be, Grace or Red John?"

Lisbon stood in shock, staring at the screen of the computer, willing this to be a nightmare, but not waking up.

_Nine Hours previously…_

They all left the room, and as they went down the front steps. Lisbon turned to Jane, who had been abnormally quiet the entire time. "So, do you think it's real, or do you think it's a copy cat?"

"I don't know," he replied simply.

_Present…_

Rigsby stood tensely, staring at the screen, wishing that he could run in there and do something. All this waiting was killing him. He couldn't believe what had happened only a few minutes before, this was not something he had ever thought possible. True, Jane had been acting weird all day, but really, when didn't Jane act weird?

Lisbon was preparing to make a choice that she dreaded. A team of snipers were on their way, and when they got there, they would set up, and prepare to take the shot through the small window. She hoped desperately that she could talk Jane out of doing anything before they had to use lethal force. But if she couldn't, if he were dead set on this, and wouldn't be moved… She didn't want to think about that, not yet, not until she absolutely had to.

_Two hours previously…_

It hadn't taken much to catch the killer; he had been at a local hotel. He had multiple warrants out for his arrest, for everything from violent assault to rape. He had a history of harming women, though it had slacked off lately – no doubt due to caution, now that he had added murder to his list. A neighbor could put him in the area the day before, though they didn't have any substantial evidence - yet.

_Present…_

The sniper team was set up in a building across the street. They were getting a line on Jane every so often, and if need be they could take him out. Lisbon had hated calling them, but what else could she do? When Jane had offered the choice of 'Grace, or Red John' he had forced her to have to decide another question: Jane or Van Pelt? The answer, analytically, was obvious. Jane was out of control and would likely spend the rest of his life either in jail or in a mental institution. Just because it made sense didn't make it easy. She felt like she might as well be the one pulling the trigger.

Michael Masters, the sheriff, was now trying to negotiate with Jane.

"Listen, Mr. Jane. This isn't worth throwing your life away on. Surrender now, and you'll be in a mental hospital for a few years, then you can be free again. This guy probably isn't even the real Red John, in fact, I highly doubt it. There's lots of evidence pointing to the contrary."

"No! I know it, and you are going to bring him to me, or Van Pelt dies!" he yelled, waving the gun in her direction, looking even more maddened than before.

They could hear Van Pelt pleading in the background.

"No, don't do it!" Michael yelled, "We don't have Red John, you understand me? We don't have him! It's not him who did this, it was a copy cat"

"How do you know that? How can you know that?" And with that Jane raised the gun and pointed it as Van Pelt. "No, I don't believe you".

"No!" Rigsby yelled. Lisbon ran to the corner of the room and whispered into the radio "Do you have a shot?"

"Negative, he's moved out of view." crackled the reply.

Lisbon turned to look at the screen.

And then as Jane leveled the gun, Michael said, "I know it because I did it, it was me!"

"You are lying to me, saying anything to make me stop." Jane said, showing a little hesitation.

"No I'm not. I didn't mean to do it, it was an accident. We were having an affair. I was there making dinner, and had a knife in my hand when the lights went out for a minute. I walked in the dark, trying to find a light, she tripped over something in the dark, and I reflexively reached out to try to catch her..." He laid his head in his hand as Lisbon stared at him in shock.

"Why did you make it look like a Red John, if you really did do it?" Jane said, focusing his attention on the camera now.

"She died quickly, and I knew that if anyone found out, it would be the end of me. My marriage, my career. And who accidentally stabs someone? They'd have Manslaughter pinned on me in an instant. I don't know why Red John popped into my head, but he did. It hurt me to do it, but I had to. I don't want anyone else to die, please don't kill any more people, I don't want anyone else's blood on my head. I just want it to be over".

Lisbon stood up and said "you're under arrest, put your hands on your head"

Rigsby cuffed Michael, and a deputy came and took his commanding officer by the elbow and led him away.

After a moment Jane whispered, "Is he gone?"

Rigsby replied in the affirmative, at which Jane relaxed his stance. Breaking into a huge grin, he turned to Cho and said, "Alright, you can get up now."

Cho sat upright and stretched his un-cuffed hands, looking entirely unconcerned. Van Pelt stared in silent shock, and then glanced at Jane in confusion. "What?" Cho asked her, "Do you want me to arrest him for murder?"

...................

A little while later, Jane stood in front of Lisbon looking faintly sheepish, but still pleased with himself.

"You know what? I don't even know where to begin. That stunt definitely deserves an official reprimand, and might even earn you a suspension. What were you thinking? Why do you always have to go off on your own like that?"

"I don't suppose 'sorry' would help much, would it?" he asked.

"Definitely not."

"Well, sorry anyway. I knew it would be a lot of trouble for everyone involved, but I couldn't think of any other way to get him to confess. He obviously was feeling extremely guilty, and I thought if the body count resulting from his actions went up, he would confess. There was no real evidence, you know. Just a bunch of little things which no jury would ever accept without a confession."

"You thought. You couldn't have known that he would! What would you have done if he hadn't? Said, 'oh sorry, I was trying to make a respected sheriff confess to murder by holding my colleagues at gunpoint. I guess it didn't work, let's move to plan B.' "?

"I hadn't really planned that far, actually." He said smiling widely.

This irritated Lisbon, and she shot back, "You know I had snipers, right? I could have decided at any moment that you were too much of a threat and given the order. You could have been killed!"

This sobered Jane a little. "I figured you probably would have them there. And I knew if it came down to it, you'd give the order, you'd do what you had to do. It was a balance of going far enough to make Masters think that I'd do it, but not far enough that you would. You think I'm messed up, but deep down you thought I wasn't that messed up, enough to kill Van Pelt."

"I already ordered the shot, as soon as you aimed the gun at her head."

Jane paused, looking a bit dumbfounded. "Really?"

Lisbon nodded uncomfortably.

"I guess it's a good thing I stayed away from the window then." He said with a grin, and then walked away.

~Finis~

**What? You really thought I killed Cho? What kind of insane person do you think I am? And yes, for the record, Cho is the only one who was in on Jane's plan. Van Pelt really thought she was being held hostage.**

**When Dr. Spitfire was explaining the writing prompt and all the possible ways that it could be done, I asked if perhaps one of the team was the hostage TAKER, not the hostage or negotiator. I was just trying to be funny, but when he said no, and then finally changed his mind and said yes if it could be done in character... that's a challenge I couldn't pass up. So we have the entire team being Hostage taker, Hostages, and negotiators. And poor Rigsby pacing and fretting over Van Pelt.**

**So, review? Please? :)**


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